Bows

I have looked on FHO to see what kind of info there is on bows. I want a wood bow, either brazilwood or pernumcubo that is around $100 to $175. I have read information that you should buy a bow that is about a third of the value of your fiddle/violin. I don't have $500 to spend. The bow that came with my fiddle is ok, but I need a better one. Got any ideas? My teacher has warned me to stay away from fiberglass and carbon fiber bows, they just don't have the same feel at wood bows. Appreciate any feed back you all have. Thanks.

i bought a baroque bow from a chinese vendor on ebay for about $25.00 - http://myworld.ebay.com/chsu_music/ - made from brazilwood. it's my favorite bow now - shorter than a modern bow but very comfortable; beautifully made, light weight, quick and sounding great.

Susan:
Bows are extremely personal and I would never say that one bow is better than another. I would, however, have to disagree in general with your teacher and say that nowadays decent carbon fiber bows in your price range are quite nice for the money and the ones that have played have been the equal or better than wooden bows in that price range. I don't find the CF bows all that different in feel if made by a good maker.

The best would be to try out bows in person. Also, since you have a teacher can't that person recommend a specific bow? In nay case, if there is not a violin store near you, Sharmusic.com has a bow tryout program. For right now it is entirely free and they will even pay shipping. I have bought a lower-end carbon fiber and a wooden bow for my daugther from them and they were both decent for the money. Shar Music bow trials.

Find a guy with a rental fleet. In urban areas there's somebody who rents intruments out to all the band/orchestra kids. He/she could have the cream of the used stuff.
J.G.'s right, try as many as you can. I'll also mention, bring your old bow and the violin you regularly play. That decreases the variables, and makes for a better comparison.

I have to say, I prefer my carbon-fiber bow over any wood bow that I've ever had. It really doesn't feel any different, and it's definitely less maintenance. Plus, you're not using rainforest woods, which is a good thing in my book (don't have to keep cutting down brazilwood and pernambuco trees to make bows). There are some carbon-fiber bows out there that are around $50 (either from Shar or Johnson String Instrument); mine, a CodaBow Colours, cost significantly more, but I really do like it.

So far, I've played a pernambuco bow and a CF bow. (I even made my husband to listen to see if he could tell the difference) He preferred the CF bow, he said he could tell I had more control over the bow and it sounded much better than either wood bow. It glides across the strings so much easier and it has a sweeter sound IMHO. I had much more control too. On my present bow (about $80) it scretches at the frog and the tip. Neither one of these I'm borrowing do that. I ran scales all across the strings and it was such a nice tone. So, he said if I can wait until June or July, and things go right at school, I could have a Coda Diamond NX. For that I will wait, even til Christmas. We need to save up for it. I will try one before I buy it though. Right now Shar Music doesn't carry them, but Fisher Violins does and they let you try them out at home, and return them. And I don't want to try one out right now, cause I know I'll want to keep it!

So I just wonder why your teacher said to stay away from the CF bows. Coda and Musicary are among the best but your OP said a lower price range. I think it is worth it to make that jump and the NX sounds like a good choice.

BTW I don;'t think that Shar ever carried Coda but at lone time they did sell Musicary. I think the ones they sell are made to their specs.

She was afraid I would get a low cost CF bow (under $100). I have 3 CodaBows coming to me from Fisher Violins in about a week to 10 days. One is the Prodigy, and two of them are Diamond NX's. I have a feeling I will be sending back only 2 bows. I have heard some very good comments about CodaBows and wanted to try them out. The music stores around here, while they are good, cannot beat the internet prices. So, in the mean time, I'm just being patient and using my old bow. I'll probably keep it for a while, then give it away and get a better wood bow.

Actually, now that I think of it, Potter's might carry inexpensive carbon-fiber bows...I remember seeing something to that effect once. However, they're redoing their inventory/shop-page online, so you can't really see it.

Those Codas sound like a good choice to me. I bought my daughter a CF viola bow -- the cheapest one from Shar and it was better than a lot of other wood ones, even at that price.

just bought an inexpensive carbon fiber bow on line from the u.k.. curiosity killed the cat - no it didn't ... not that a comparison from me will be worth much but i'll let you know how it turns out. the plain, inexpensive baroque bow i mentioned earlier is the best so far.

The CodaBows came today, all I can say is WOW! What a difference between my old bow and these. I received two Diamond NX's and a Prodigy from Fisher Violins to try out for 10 days or so. I have been favoring one of the NX's already. It has a sweet wonderful tone, the other NX is deeper to me, and the Prodigy is fine. I'll with all three over the next few days and see which one stays with me. It's amazing to me how different they sound from the bow I have now.

I entered a drawing through Strings magazine to win a CodaBow Diamond NX....didn't get it, but was worth a shot. I just love the fact that they don't warp. Every wooden bow I've ever had warped horribly. That is another plus in the carbon-fiber's basket.

bow warp!? ... had no idea it was such a common thing - what can you do to correct it if it happens?

You can have it fixed at a luthier, but the repair process is usually more expensive than it's worth. I believe it involves putting the bow unhaired into a steambox and straightening it.

my carbon fibre bow arrived yesterday (long delays in the post due to a back-log of flights, caused by volcanic ash from iceland) and it's wonderful. it weighs less than my wooden bow - very comfortable to hold; very light and responsive. it's a no-name bow, "crafted in china" as the vendor says, with a purchace price of £26.99 ($36.63). this puts it at the cheaper end of the price scale but there's nothing to complain about it for that ... save one thing: it won't fit in the second (upper) slot of the fiddle case - too long.